Third Place,

the biggest compliment for me because it was a representation of what I’ve been preaching to these guys about how we present ourselves everywhere we go, no matter where we are at or what we are doing. I thought our guys did a great job of displaying Plattsburg basketball and how we do things around here.” shot down at West Platte last year. I thought that was a decent starting point for us.”

For senior Luke Schroeder, it was a sign of the successes to come.

“When we won the KCI Conference Tournament, we knew it was the real deal this season,” he said.

Over Christmas break, the Tigers hit the road in search of opportunities to sharpen their swords. They defeated Dixon 64-36 at the Norm Stewart Classic at Columbia’s Mizzou Arena, Lincoln College Prep 73-48 at Hy-Vee Arena in Kansas City during the 12 Courts of Christmas, and then swept their way to the championship at the LeBlond Holiday Tournament, including a 60-59 double-overtime victory against St. Michael the Archangel for the title.

That victory came with some added meaning for Coach T, as it came against his former high school coach, Hall of Famer Mark Scanlon.

Coach T added that the boys were exhausted from winning three tournament games in three days, but it felt like a major turning

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He said he was happy for his players, especially his three seniors, to experience the state basketball championships.

“I want to say thank you to the entire community,” said Coach T. “The support we’ve received all year long. The school, our administration, have been behind us from Day 1. I point for the team.

“We just got rolling, gradually getting better game after game,” he said. “Our mindset, I thought, was in the right place all year long. We weren’t looking too far ahead but we were also locked in when it came to game-time.”

Plattsburg rolled to 10 victories in January and eight in February, only two of which were close – a onepoint win against big school Excelsior Springs and a sixpoint win against a resurgent West Platte team in the Class 2, District 15 championship game.

The Tigers also cruised to the KCI Conference regular season title, going 7-0 and outscoring their opponents by an average of 22.4 points. Their undefeated streak also caught eyes around the state, as Plattsburg soon topped the MBCA Class 2 state rankings.

All the while, Coach T preached to the kids that they should enjoy the moment, but keep a grasp on the moment, too – a lesson he learned as a high school player when his team went 27-0 but was upset one win want to thank those guys for trusting in me with our team. All of our parents, we just had so much support all year long. I don’t know how I’m going to make it through the banquet. I was just so happy to be their coach and the way we represented Plattsburg basketball.” short of making state.

“We made life-long memories this year and I just kept explaining that to them,” he said. “But I also was trying to keep them locked in, win one game at a time.”

Even after entering the postseason, the Tigers would have one more chance to show out in front of the home crowd, hosting the annual tournament at PHS. The Tigers dispatched Maysville in the first round, 72-38, then cut down the nets with their title victory against West Platte.

From there, just two games separated Plattsburg from a trip to Springfield. The first came one February 27, when the Tigers eliminated Bishop LeBlond (St. Joseph) 61-40 at Staley High School, which was followed March 3 with Plattsburg’s 53-46 win against Weaubleau in the Missouri Class 2 State Quarterfinals at Civic Arena in St. Joseph.

The party was on, as Clinton County R-III and the Plattsburg community celebrated the Tigers’ ticket to the Final Four and followed their squad southward for the championships.

“It was just great going to state,” said junior Isaia Howard. “I’ve always wanted to go to state. A bunch of my friends went to state in baseball, so I wanted to experience that for myself... To do it with my friends who I grew up with, I’ve always played sports with these guys since I was little, so it just meant a lot.”

“It was really nice to get to go down to Springfield and be able to play on that court and play against such great teams,” said senior Alex Black. “Despite where we finished, I’m still happy with how far we got and how well we did. I think our hard work and effort showed.”

Senior Jackson Lewis recalled playing basketball as children with Howard and Schroeder and how far they had come, playing for the state’s biggest title.

“Just playing with your friends and being able to play for the school you’ve been at since preschool and being able to play varsity level all three years, being able to make some big runs... It just feels good to end on a run like that.”

Sophomore Rylan Langton said he learned a lot of lessons from the upperclassmen that will help him as he and the team move forward, including the importance of communication, relaxing and just playing basketball.

Coach T said when you build strong relationships together, the players will run through a wall for their coach, and he felt they did that all season long.

“They didn’t have anything left to give,” he said.

“They emptied the tank. That’s why I was so emotional in the third-place game. I couldn’t even get my words out to tell them what defense we were in at the beginning of the game because I knew it was our last time huddling up with each other. This was such a historic season for Plattsburg, and throughout the state. There aren’t many teams that have won 31 games, historically. It’s crazy. I’m just thankful for the group of guys I had in my locker room.”